LGBT News IL will not vote on marriage equality, votes not there

VERY disappointed tonight by our inept state legislature.

:bang::tears:

But just remember, this is a lost battle in a war that will eventually be won.

 

Nooooooo! I was really counting on Illinois!

 

What a shame. I was really hoping that this would pass; I checked in at noon and throughout the day :\ Sigh, maybe in the fall.

 

The only good side of this is that I think it's important for us to realize this will happen. We've recently had a few more states pass marriage equality, and I think it kind of became a "well, this must happen!" It's time for a regroup...especially since IL is home to one of the biggest and most liberal cities in the Midwest.
Even at that, it's sad. I'm sorry for everyone living there. It gave me hope, because I live in Indiana and would love to move someplace close where I could get married. Sigh....

 

Pretty pathetic. If Minnesota, a much more rural and conservative state, could pass marriage equality, there is no excuse for a state as urban and liberal as Illinois not to get it passed.

 

We have the most inept, inefficient government here in IL. They never get anything done in a timely fashion. There were 3 or 4 other major bills that they waited until tonight, the last day of the session, to vote on. Some of the others probably won't be voted on either.

I was amazed at how MN passed their bill within a week. House, senate, governor, done. Made it look easy.

Just remember everyone, we may have lost the battle, but we are well on our way to winning this war. The future is bright. We will keep fighting.

 

Well Illinois I think is like New Jersey in that marriage equality has the popular support, it's inevitable that it will get there, there's just some technicalities standing in the way right now. The Democrats control all the branches of government in Illinois though, which makes this failure all the more egregious. If SCOTUS doesn't legalize marriage equality in 50 states, IL will probably be one of the next few states to legalize.

 

Aww. Suxxx.

My home state is not cool.

 

^ This. I currently live in Indiana, and if anyone knows anything about Indiana, it blows when it comes to gay acceptance and equality. I reiterate that the battle isn't over and there is still hope, especially for Illinois.

As for Minnesota passing that bill before Illinois...I kinda saw that coming from a mile away and I'm not completely sure why.

 

Well Illinois is basically the same as Indiana, mostly conservative and rural. The only difference is Illinois has one giant liberal city on top of it that makes the whole state much more progressive. If Chicago were part of Indiana instead, we'd be talking about you getting marriage equality instead of Illinois.

 

Well, I personally believe Indiana is WAY out of reach. It's almost sickening. I think(just don't quotes me on this) that I remember hearing about a piece of legislation about banning, in so many words, any kind of same-sex marriage or any hope of it in my good ole' home state.

I don't follow politics too closely, so I apologize in advance for any glaring ignorance.

 

Well what the Republicans in Indiana were proposing is a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, enshrining anti-gay bigotry into the state's constitution. But actually Indiana is ahead of the game: 32 other states already have those kinds of amendments on the books, including even 'liberal' states like Oregon and California.

So the situation isn't especially bad in Indiana, even though legalization of marriage equality is unlikely. But with each passing year, the chances of anti-gay constitutional amendments being put on the ballot and passing shrink smaller and smaller as the public becomes more accepting.

 

Thank you for clearing that up for me. It all makes me feel a little less dirty for taking up residence here.

 

Like Gov. Pat Quinn said, if they don't pass this now, their families will look back on this years from now and say "What were you thinking?"

 

I just went to their site and saw what they wrote at the end of their article:

"And critically important, as we approach the upcoming gubernatorial election, we must actively and publicly support only those candidates who support natural marriage."

What kind of institution is this? Oh you mean natural as in all gender types of marriages?

 

It's not the churches or the Illinois Family Institute. It's the fact that too many Republican Representatives are "asking for more time" If you see the list of "maybe"s, It far exceeds double the combination of "Yes"s and "no"s.

I've been told month after month to contact my representative, David McSweeney. David Mcsweeney is one of these Republicans that opposes same-sex marriage, and he won't budge his views on it. I've sent him emails upon emails about this, changing the content of the default email to try and get his attention. Chances are, I have. But what really pisses me off is that he's not listening. As a representative, he is not doing his job by taking one issue that is on the floor of the Illinois House of Representatives that has had very hot debates, and he's pushing it under the rug, treating it like it never existed.

The worst part about this is that he's presenting it this way, too. A couple weeks ago, I was sent his survey of a list of issues and options to choose from. Another issue that was on the House floor, Abortion, was on that survey. However, I didn't see the slightest hint of this particular issue on that survey, and that's what really gets me. That he's purposely trying to forget about it and make this issue as though it doesn't exist, when it obviously does. He only goes with his own closed-minded views and completely ignores his constitutents.

What's more is that he works side-by-side with several people, both Democrat and Republican, all of which actually support same-sex marriage. He's been touring with Chris Mitchell, also Republican, who fully supports same-sex marriage, and first-handedly believes that this issue is pretty much a no-brainer.

So when I was contacted yet again to give an email to Mcsweeney, I declined because I now know that it's absolutely pointless and a waste of time to do so. I really can't wait for the elections for his position. I know I've got some words against Romney, but David Mcsweeney makes Mitt Romney look like Bono.

Here is Mcsweeney in debate: Public Affairs: Dave McSweeney [R-8th CD candidate] on Social Issues
Here is the list of Reps that are pushing this back: david mcsweeney | Release Dorothy!